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hi 2 all. i just bought a 55 gallon Aquarium . I cycld it for 3 weeks. I thought it was ready, until my nitrite levels jumped from safe to danger, 5.0,
within a day. I thought I was going to lose all my fish but they survived. i have a couple of questions for you guys and gals. After putting my fish threw that kind of stress for 3 days, should I look for any sickness, and is it still possible that they may die. I guess I should tell you what kind of fish I have. Now to my fish I have (4 German Blue Rams two males and two females, one male Kribensis [Krib] with 3 females, 7 tiger barbs, 4 corys, and one whiptail catfish, one pleco and 2 Shell-Dweller. And for my last question is my tank over stocked, if not any suggestions on what other fish I may put in there.

What kind of pleco is it? If its a common plec them it will eventually outgrow your tank. I think your school of tiger barbs might outgrow the tank too, I've heard they need large tanks. I think a 55 is big enough though. Not too sure, I don't keep them. After your tank is cycled I would add atleast 2 more cories as they like to be in schools of 6 or more.

Hi, and let me welcome you to Fish Profiles. Now as for you questions, let me start;

I thought it was ready, until my nitrite levels jumped from safe to danger, 5.0, within a day. I thought I was going to lose all my fish but they survived.

OK, yes your nitrite levels should be 0 upon the completion of your cycle. However, when you add new fish, your bioload increases, and thus the cycle has to catch up with it. So your tank may experience a suddent spike in ammonia and then nitrites. As long as it goes down quickly, there is no worries. Also, you should always re-check any bad readings, as the test kits these days can sometimes read wrong.

After putting my fish threw that kind of stress for 3 days, should I look for any sickness, and is it still possible that they may die.

NitrItes are not as harmful to the fish, as is ammonia and very high levels of nitrAtes. And the biggest thing is, they should drop down if your cycle has been completed. Ammonia is the number 1 culperate for problems. I think your fish will be just fine, and not show any signs of any problems. Just be sure to keep up on your water changes and keep the nitrAtes down in the safe ranges.

I do not think your tank is over stocked at all, and you can probablly add some more fish.

HTH......

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There is always a bigger fish...

Hi and welcome to FP!
I just wanted to make a mention to you of the danger your kribensis fish pose to your other fish. Kribs are very, very aggressive when breeding, and are not really compatible with sensitive fish such as blue rams.
My sister had a pair of kribs, that killed 3 cory cats, an angelfish, 3 gold rams, and 3 blue rams, and a dwarf gourami. I would not recommend this fish to anyone who keeps anything but african cichlids.
Kribs are an african cichlid, despite their small size, and it is well known that african fish tend not to be very compatible with fish from other areas. Think of it like the kribs speak ethiopian, and the rest of your fish speak spanish. They speak two different languages, and these differences are a surefire opportunity for chaos and death.
I would take the kribs back to the pet store and swap them for some other asian/south american fish that are more suitable to your setup, more peaceful, and less dangerous.
Other than that, you have lots of room left for more fish. I would suggest removing the kribs before adding any other fish, as kribs are often very aggressive towards new tank mates and have been known to kill on first sight.


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You also may want to add more tiger barbs. Many people ahve had experience with there tigers nipping at more peaceful fish like your cories. Getting more would spread out the agression.

fish1

hi, im new to this site but i can relate to the krib- barb situation. i have a 55 gallon with several barbs (5 tigers 3 green 3 albino 3 gold 3 checkerd and 4 black ruby) until about a week ago i also had a ma le kribensis, he killed a female krib and another male krib before he decided to take a chunck out of the dorsal fin of one of my green tigers.kribs are agressive cichlids and can be dangerous towards other fish, thats why i got rid of him, be carefull.

dave

I would really recommend againist keeping SA cichlids with african cichlids.